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Mr. Barrie, a Kingston resident, was travelling east on Hwy. 401 when the tractor trailer jackknifed around 10:25 a.m. on Feb. 18, approximately one kilometre from the Grafton exit. The next day another tractor trailer jackknifed near the same location.

They are just two of several cases which have occurred in recent weeks on Hwy. 401 in Northumberland. On Feb. 8 a transport truck and SUV collided near Brighton. On Jan. 28 a jackknifed tractor trailer closed Hwy. 401 for two hours near Colborne. And on Jan. 25, several cars smashed into a jackknifed tractor trailer, spawning a series of collisions involving approximately 80 vehicles, just west of Northumberland's boundary.

Jackknifed tractor trailer incidents appear to be on the rise in recent weeks but according to the Ministry of Transportation, the number of fatalities in large truck collisions has declined 50 per cent from 197 to 99, between 1990 and 2009 in Ontario. The decline comes despite the fact that there has been a 59 per cent increase in the number of large trucks registered in Ontario, said Emna Dhahak, an MTO media officer.

I saw the trailer had split in half. Stephan Barri

The Northumberland tractor trailer accidents in recent weeks have not resulted in life threatening injuries but a Pickering man died when his SUV collided head-on with a transport truck on County Road 28 on Nov. 10.

The reason why transport truck rollovers or jackknifings happen is different in every case, said Northumberland OPP Constable Karen German. Some collisions are caused by driver error, weather conditions or speed. Drivers should be aware transport truck drivers need more time to stop.

"The reactionary time is a lot longer than car... you can't expect them to stop on a dime," said Const. German.

There does seem to be more collisions involving transport trucks on the stretch of Hwy. 401 near Grafton, she said. But Const. German could not say why nor could she provide statistics. In the case of the jackknife on Feb. 18, the cause is not yet known but bone dry road conditions suggest it wasn't weather related, said Const. German.

"I saw the trailer had split in half," said Mr. Barrie after the accident. Mr. Barrie was in one of many cars stopped for hours on the eastbound lanes of the highway that day. The back trailer of the transport truck had dislodged, slid across the highway and smashed a vehicle into the guardrail.

Many of the incidents in recent weeks have occurred in poor weather and Const. German said people need to drive according to weather conditions.

"Just because it says 100 km/h doesn't mean you have to go 100 km/h," she said.

When it comes to safety there is a movement afoot to reduce transport truck collisions, said Marco Beghetto, vice president of communications for the Ontario Trucking Association. Roll stability control systems are a relatively new technology, which reduce the truck speed when sensors detect instability, said Mr. Beghetto. The U.S. is working on mandating the roll stability systems in transport trucks, he added.

"We believe that it would be a game changer for highway safety in general," said Mr. Beghetto. Many of the Ontario Trucking Association members are already using the devices and see the benefits, he said.

There are several safety measures already in place. Ontario has some of the highest fines in North America for operating an unsafe commercial vehicle -- as high as $20,000 and for some offences, as high as $50,000, said Ms. Dhahak. A New Entrant Education and Evaluation program should also help new truck and bus companies in Ontario understand regulations, and they are tested on the rules for safely operating on roads, she added.

Karen Longwell is a photographer/reporter for the Northumberland News.